Dragon's Treasure
by DeadDelta
Summary: After the death of Lisanna, Natsu trains so he can get stronger to protect the ones he loves and his family at Fairy Tail with the help of one Erza Scarlet. (I hope the story turns out better than the summary. Because I really suck at summaries. Sorry)
1. Fanning the Flames

Written Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail, all rights are reserved to Hiro Mashima.

 **Author's Note: Alright, now you may or may not have ever heard this but, you do have a right on whether or not to read this story. If you have any constructive criticism I implore that you share your thoughts, however, if you do not like the story that I am writing because of something I do or it seems too generic, I ask that you may share your thoughts about this as well but do try to keep things nice and civil.**

 **Important things that should be noted:**

 **Year of Lisanna's death**

 **Natsu's strength and intellect (He will NOT be OP or insanely smart but he will have ideas and a better concept of things that in canon he would not.)**

 **I will be stating this again later when it comes up but Natsu and Erza's relationship with Wendy (Will be more familial)**

 **Age Changes:**

 **Natsu- 19**

 **Erza- 21**

 **Wendy- 11**

 **Anyways, I don't want to ramble on too much sooo, here is the story**

Chapter 1: Fanning the Flames

Magnolia x780

The day was bleak and overcast as a large group of people stood in the middle of a cemetery. Two of these people had white hair and were easily identifiable as siblings. These siblings were kneeling in front of a headstone crying profusely at the loss of their sister while a girl with scarlet hair gently placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

Looking up the redhead had finally worked up enough courage to read the gravestone, which said:

Here lies Lisanna Strauss

Kindred spirit, Fairy Tail mage

And the best sister any sibling could ask for

Underneath the words there was an engraved symbol that most would presume to be the symbol of the Guild called Fairy Tail. As the redhead finished reading the words marked down on the gravestone of Lisanna she felt tears blurring the vision in her left eye as they began to roll down her cheek. She looked backwards to look for a pink haired mage amongst the other mourning guild mates. After searching for a few minutes with no luck she squeezed the Strauss sibling's shoulders as she walked to the guild master.

"Master, have you seen Natsu? I haven't seen nor heard from him since Mirajane and Elfman got back and I am worried about him."

"No Erza, I am afraid that I haven't seen him either. Honestly, I am worried too. No one has seen him in four days and it isn't like Natsu to just disappear like that. However, I think I may know where he is."

Meanwhile in a forest outside of Magnolia stood a young teen with salmon pink hair. The teen's body looked like he had just walked through a tornado. His body was littered with cuts and bruises along with quite a few deeper gashes along various parts of his body. The baggy pants he generally wore were reduced to just the upper portion and a shredded vest was could be seen discarded to the side, no longer able to serve its purpose. The surrounding area looked as though it fared no better, there were scorch marks all over the pace on various things while the ground seemed to be made of them seemingly blackened all over. Pieces of scorched rock littered the clearing while the trees surrounding the area were scorched on the sides facing the clearing.

"Damn it all, this isn't enough! At this rate, I'll never be able to protect my friends and family." Natsu shouted vehemently.

'I also won't be able to protect her, wait were did that come from?'

"Ah, think Natsu. What can I do to make myself stronger?" Natsu pondered this question for a moment before he thought of something, shouting to himself, "I've got an idea!"

"Little kids like you having an idea is dangerous." A voice drawled from one of the trees surrounding the clearing.

Natsu whipped around to face the speaker, he was dressed with a black leather jacket over a black shirt. He was wearing black jeans topped off with black combat boots, if you couldn't see his face you'd have thought it was simply just a large shadow. Natsu wore an enraged expression on his face while he snarled, "I am not a little kid!"

The man's flinch was barely visible when he looked into the dragon slayer's eyes. Said eyes seemed to burn a hole straight into the man's soul. The man however, visibly relaxed when his partners appeared around the clearing, signifying their operation was about to start.

Natsu had almost suddenly noticed four other scents surrounding him around the clearing. "What do you want from me?" Natsu asked.

"Well, since you asked so polite like. I think that we an divulge a little bit." One of the men behind him said.

"Sure, since it won't matter in the end of things." Another implied.

"To answer your question, we want you." The man grinned evilly, "and your magic. You see, we are magic hunters that look for people with ancient, lost or simply rare types of magic. It just happens that this line of work runs hand in hand with black market bounty hunting, which of course is run by the Balam Alliance. And one of the biggest upcoming targets just happens to be a pink haired brat standing in front of us."

Natsu dissected the information for a few seconds before he realized what it meant. He got ready to fight these people but he knew he wasn't going to last very long, he had been training his body for four days straight and it was surprising to even him that he was still standing. He was already blinking spots out of his eyes and it seemed to him that these five men were well rested and ready to go.

The five men all got into different stances while readying their magic. Almost in perfet synchronization they called out.

" **Earth Make…** "

" **Metal Make…** "

" **Water Make…** "

" **Wood Make…** "

" **Ice Make…** " Upon hearing this Natsu immediately frowned.

" **Golem!** " They all shouted as five golems clad in armor with shields and weapons of their respective elements formed.

The five golems charged at Natsu who felt a slight energy spike of adrenaline. The two golems to reach Natsu first was the ice and wook golems. Natsu jumped backwards and lit his arms on fire before shouting, " **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!** "

The attack hit both golems, engulfing the wood golems in flames while the ice golem melted into a puddle of water. When Natsu landed he felt a presence behind him as he turned and ducked the slash from the incoming sword of the metal golem but was shield bashed in the face which sent him tumbling in front of the earth golem as he pounced backwards and twisting his body and again lighting his fist on fire before yelling, " **Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!** "

Sweeping his arm in a deadly arc his fist made contact with the golem at the base of the neck decimating it, flinging dirt and tiny rocks everywhere as dirt got into his eyes. Natsu reeled back while involuntary natural tears sprung to his eyes to flush out the dirt making his vision hazy. The water golem reached Natsu as he began to stand back up. He turned around to look for the two golems remaining as his eyes widened in shock as the water golem was bringing its sword down to slash across Natsu's body. Natsu tried careening backards to escape the blow but only succeeded inmaking the gash slightly shallower. Acting on instinct alone, Natsu set his body ablaze to cauterize the wound and plunged a fist of fire into the water golen. The fire died out but the heat remained as the golem started to boil and turn to steam.

Looking away from the golem he was turning to steam he saw all five men smirking at him. Something about the demeanor seemed too confident, when a shadow loomed over Natsu. He turned around with a raised hand intended to stop the shield bash he knew was coming at him. When he felt the shield he dug his fingers into the metal shield by heating the metal up to make it more malleable. When he had a firmgrip he tore the shield away from the golem and in the same movement whipped it across the clearing, sticking it in a tree.

Spots were once again dancing in his vision as the adrenaline wore off. 'Not now, why does it have to be now?' Natsu thought as the last golem swung its blade's flat edge to knock Natsu out. Natsu ducked under the blow and stumbled backwards. He broke the fall by twisting his body and using his left hand to stop the momentum, effectively breaking his wrist in the process with a sickening crunch. He was able to regain his footing and coat his right fist in flames.

" **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** "

The attack made contact and punched a hole right though the metal golem. He pulled his arm out and set his foot aflame and jumped, throwing his weight downwards to garner as much force into the kick as possible.

" **Fire Dragon's Claw!** "

The attack was severely weakened from Natsu's fatigue, however the sheer force of the kick smashed and twisted the metal golem into a mostly heaping pile of scrap. Despite being basically destroyed the metal golem still was able to swing the pommel of its sword into the dragon slayer's temple, serving to cause him to start blacking out. Just before he did he saw the golem shudder and collapse while his last thought was, 'I am sorry, Erza…'

 **Author's Note: First off, if you are reading this note right now and managed to read the entire story, well, I congratulate you. I also must apologize to you before I explain anything, so I am sorry.**

 **Now, if you were confused about Natsu punching a hole through the metal golem I should explain that the golem is not solid. I would presume that the durability of the metal would require much more magic power. I would also like to state that with this kind of magic I would say that a master of metal make could use different types of metal, like iron or steel but doing so would again require more magic power.**

 **If the whole thing about the ice make confused you as well, I will explain how they were able to get this in next chapter but it has to do with Gray's backstory. Which will be the same as canon so that really should answer that.**

 **Also, should the posting process go as planned, the title of this story is Dragon's Treasure. It doesn't really seem to have any relevance but I think that Natsu has always wanted a family. It is something that he would treasure, which is where I got the name for the story.**

 **I will not lie and say that this is my first draft because it really isn't, I have a literal hard copy that is slightly different than what I typed but it really does contain the same things. So, should I lose anything on the computer I still should not lose my ideas/thoughts for the story.**

 **Anyhow, I am open to any suggestions that you may have and I bid you a fair day.**

 **-Dead Delta**


	2. Acknowledgement

Written Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, as much as I wish I could say that I owned such an amazing piece of work.

 **Author's Note: I have something to say that is not relevant at the time but I should probably say it while it is fresh on my mind. I will be giving Ultear an additional power with her Arc of Time that not only opens their second origin like in the anime and manga but also sends their body structure 7 years in the future. I will not be having them party for the day in the celestial spirit world and they will meet up with Crime Sorciere earlier, thus giving them time to grow those seven years within a few months. Which will actually be about four days for a year.**

 **Now, something that won't be relevant to this story but is important to some stories that I am writing/will be writing. I don't support any ships with Natsu fully, the only one that I do not support is Lucy. That doesn't mean I don't like reading other NaLu fanfics I just mean that I will not be able to really write one because I like history behind ships and I just don't see that with NaLu.**

 **Now, on to the story.**

Chapter 2: Acknowledgement

Erza and Makarov approached the makeshift clearing that was blackened all around. They had been following a trail of destruction leading here from Natsu and Lisanna's house they built to raise Happy. Naturally the trail was easily identified to have been made by Natsu if the charred ground and stumps were any indication.

Upon arriving at the clearing they were both shocked at what they saw. The ground and many of the trees were blackened from flames and there appeared to be a puddle of water and ash on the ground along with some scattered brown earth. But the things that got their attention the most was a crumpled metal soldier that had a hole punched through it and something that looked somewhere in between a mix of a metal disc and a shield was stuck in one of the trees. In the middle it was crumpled up and appeared to have been melted recently.

Erza was more than just shocked at the battlefield, she was furious. Furious that someone had taken away one of her comrades, one of her friends, her secret crush. Nothing could describe the rage building inside of Erza's chest. She whipped around to face Makarov so fast he jumped back because of the aura she was emitting before she whispered quietly in a tone that spoke with authority, "Master, we must find Natsu. We have to make the people that took Natsu pay."

Makarov felt grim, one of his children was taken away from him and he couldn't do anything about it when he felt that sense of foreboding at the funeral. He had to be there for Mirajane and Elfman, so he couldn't go searching for Natsu as soon as he wanted. But instead of anger he spoke calmly to Erza, "Yes Erza, we must. But you need to calm down, Natsu is tough. He will be okay."

Erza forced herself to calm down so that she could focus and assess the situation. She walked around the edges of the clearing to check for any sort of clues that might help in their search. She found a set of footprints tracked in mud and retraced their steps. After about 20 feet it appeared to meet up with another set of tracks, she continued to follow them even further and much to her surprise it met up with another three sets of tracks. She returned to the clearing to report to Makarov and told him what she found.

"Hm, so either there was five assailants or just a few and they want to make it seem that they had more numbers than they do. I would assume that there really are five attackers because it allows us to accommodate an attack plan accordingly and it would give us an edge if we expected more but it was actually less." Makarov deduced.

"Yes, that does seem like a logical course of action Master. I would also recommend that we try and search around the surrounding areas for them while we strategize."

"That sounds good Erza, now lead on to where you saw all five of the tracks disperse."

After finding the tracks they continued to walk in pretty much the same direction and on occasion slightly drifted one way or the other as the tracks faded due to no mud beyond the small clearing. While they were walking they heard a roar that sounded like a dragon and they saw a spire of flames rising from the trees a few hundred yards to their right. They looked at each other and sprinted towards it, knowing that only Natsu would have been capable of doing that.

 **Meanwhile in a small (naturally formed) clearing with Natsu**

Natsu woke up groggily, he still felt tired but he felt revitalized as if he slept for hours on end when he was only out for about an hour give or take. He felt cuffs on his hands and figured that they used magic restraint cuffs to subdue his magic. His vision was blurry although his hearing and smell was still really sharp. He could smell a boar being roasted over a fire and the thought made him extremely hungry, he could also hear the conversation that his five captors were having.

"Why are we still hanging around the area again?" One of the men asked.

The leader looked over at the man as if he was a buffoon, which they all truthfully were, before he responded, "We are here so that we can try and catch another prize, way I hear it, she has an extremely rare form of a more common magic. Plus I also got her bounty picture right here, look at the reward for her. Plus like the brat that is tied up over there we can kill her and take their magic after they are turned in."

One of the other hunters took the flyer and checked the reward before exclaiming, "15 million jewels?"

After they settled down from their potential reward they heard a weak voice croak, "Which one of you knows the **Ice Make Magic**?"

One of the black clad men stood up, "It seems the brat is awake, anyways. I am the one who uses **Ice Make** , why do you care?" He finished with a sneer.

"One of my guild mates uses that magic, he said that the only people who knew anything about it was him, Lyon Vastia, and their mentor Ur who died a few years ago. So, how do you know it?"

The man just laughed at him, he thought that Natsu just made the funniest joke he'd ever heard before he stated, "We said we are magic hunters, we gathered her magic after her death and stored it into a lacrima which I proceeded to have implanted in me. So I stole Ur Milkovich's **Ice Make Magic**."

Natsu snarled at the man in front of him when he claimed that he stole Gray's master's magic. He may have been rivals with Gray but truthfully he felt like he was his brother and that nothing could tear them apart, although he would never truly admit it to him. When he heard that they had done something to Gray's master he started to get pissed. The air around Natsu started to heat up as he unknowingly started to activate his flames of emotion.

The man laughed at Natsu thinking that he had just tried to escape pathetically in his mind he turned back to the other guys and asked, "So, who is this person worth 15 million jewels? Gotta be pretty strong to be worth that much."

"She is, the new target is Erza Scarlet." The leader of the group spoke nonchalantly. None of the men in the group noticed the air around Natsu still becoming increasingly hotter as he spoke in a threatening tone.

"Did you just say that you are now targeting Erza?"

The leader sneered at Natsu thinking they were perfectly safe with Natsu in magic restraint cuffs. "Yeah, I did. What are you gonna do about it? You can't even use your magic let alone stand properly."

The air around Natsu started to bend like a mirage at the heat Natsu was emitting confusing the hunters, Natsu felt the cuffs around his hands start melting away until there was nothing left of them from his body heat. He didn't move as the air around him got even hotter. Natsu started to stand up and brought his hands out in front of him, showing them he didn't have the cuffs on anymore. He let out a loud yell as a pillar of flame shot up from around him, "I will not let you bastards harm Erza!"

The men panicked slightly from seeing so much flame and knowing that their cover was probably broken because the flames reached as far as the eye can see and they were hardly out of Magnolia so they could wait to take Erza as well. They started to regroup at the edge of the clearing knowing that they would most likely have to fight again. They were startled to hear slurping sounds as Natsu sucked up the fire roasting the boar before he glared at them from the middle of his flames making him look like a shadow with two glowing red eyes.

If they used their maker magic again Natsu knew that he would fare a lot better because he had a lot more energy thanks to his flames of emotion that he didn't know about and the fire that he ate. Not only that, but because he developed a better move that could take them all out at once. It would only serve to make it easier if they didn't distance their creations from one another.

Instead of a battle however, Erza and Makarov came charging into the clearing before stopping and looking at the scene unfolding in front of them. They both got ready to battle seeing the five men staring at them. First, their prisoner breaks free and then gets some of his power back but then two high class targets come charging into the clearing.

"Well boys, looks like we get to do some more hunting today." The leader said with a grin. "Remember, conservation is our key right now."

The three Fairy Tail mages scowled at the assumption that they would be hunted. They all prepared for the inevitable fight that was sure to ensue very shortly. Erza had already re-quipped into her Morningstar Armor. While Makarov enlarged his hand and Natsu just lit his hand on fire saying, "I'm all fired up now."

The five hunters each made living maker objects that scattered around the clearing and some even hid in the forest. While Natsu had a new move that he wanted to try out he couldn't with both Erza and Makarov here. The two guild mates and master charged forward to squash the creations from the makers. They all had summoned weapons of each respective element to protect themselves up close if the need arose as they watched all of their creations slowly get crushed, slashed to smithereens and burnt to ashes. When they finished with the creations the mages were next.

Makarov approached them all with a slight look of pity on his face because he knew that at one point they could have all been saved. Now there really wasn't any chance for that because they took the wrong path. He decided that he really didn't want to draw this out any longer so that he could get his two children back to the guild safely. He raised his gigantic fist and knocked them all into trees knocking them out, while their weapons pierced his skin he didn't show any pain. He shrunk his fist and all the weapons just fell to the ground and the liquid blade just splashed on the ground while the others clattered before coming to a rest.

Natsu and Erza quickly bound the five hunters and took them to the nearest council building in Magnolia which they had built as far away from Fairy Tail as they could get. When they had finished putting the five hunters away they started to head to the guild but a few streets away Natsu stopped Erza.

He grasped her wrist and pulled her down a side street as she started turning a scarlet dark enough to put her hair to shame. She wasn't really paying attention and missed what he said as he snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked genuinely concerned.

Erza nodded back at Natsu before she said, "Yes, I was just distracted for a second. So, what were you saying?"

Natsu cheeks were tinged pink as he spoke softly, "Erza, I… I think I have a thing for you."

Erza flushed again before she looked Natsu dead in the eye and said just as softly, "I am sure I have a thing for you too."

 **Author's Note: I was not really happy with this chapter and I just feel like I really rushed along the ending of it. Especially the fight if you could even call it that, I felt terrible for being completely stuck on this chapter. I want to update any and all my stories more frequently and I hope to get another update coming sooner. Probably soon after I update my other story. I have a few story ideas that before I even write I want to share the basis of the idea with you all, probably put one down per chapter I write.**

 **Anyways, the first one I want to share is Eye of the Beholder. It would be about Natsu and Vojin Dragneel who are raised by Igneel. He can only accept one apprentice (obviously I am going to keep that as Natsu) but he is willing to help Vojin learn a magic himself. Vojin ends up creating a magic that enhances the senses much like a dragon slayer but it is all of the senses. In the end towards the time Igneel leaves Vojin loses regular sight in his left eye and instead can see magic and life force of living things. (To make it clear, magic will be seen as blue and life force will be seen as green.)**

 **That is all I have for this chapter, so tell me what you think and I will try to get you all another chapter that is hopefully better than this one in a few days.**

 **-Dead Delta**


	3. As Time Goes On

Written Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, you know the drill.

 **Author's Note: Sorry about the time it took to post this. I can only say that I haven't because it wasn't written up yet and my router took a dump. And only a few days ago we got another one and I have been busy in the past couple of days getting all my summer homework done.**

 **Of course updates will be even more erratic since I just started school back up, and finally starting my senior year, yippee.**

 **So, last chapter (which was completely blegh in my opinion if I didn't make that clear enough) ended off with Natsu and Erza admitting they liked each other. I am not good at romantic things so bear with me, I mean come on. I have only had two actual girlfriends, sheesh.**

 **On to the story!**

Chapter 3: As Time Goes On

 **(Quick announcement, this will be a high speed chapter that will really pass the time and anything interesting that happens in the time I skip I will be mentioning. Including important details)**

Natsu and Erza quickly became a couple after that, but they decided that they wanted to take things slow. In a few months all that they had done was hold hands and show most of their feelings through fighting. They had done the latter one a lot especially since Erza had been training with Natsu almost every day since they admitted their feelings for one another. When they had started to show their feelings through fighting Natsu had finally understood why he liked to fight Erza so much, and that was to show her how much she really meant to him. It also explained why he fought Gray a lot, not that he would ever truly admit it to anyone but Gray was a lot like a brother to Natsu. Erza was much the same way as Natsu, not really knowing how to show that they cared, it ended up that she showed that she cared through beating people up. Which made sense to some degree.

Natsu progressed quickly during his training with Erza, he started off being about a high B-Class or low A-Class in the beginning and after a year he progressed to being a high mid-level A-Class. During that time they had formed a small team and completed many missions together. They were a happy couple and had not really had much excitement between the two, there were arguments and disagreements that they worked through but always ended in Natsu taking her out somewhere special, not that he hadn't been doing it previously, he just went to even more extensive measures. Time had passed by quickly with Natsu surpassing the S-Class level, however not having the title to go with it. He had participated in the trials for x782 and was beat out by Mystogan. In the next year, Natsu had finally rid himself of his motion sickness thanks to Erza's methods.

The trials of year x783 was held on June 24, x783 and Natsu had passed with flying colors, not a single person could disagree that he wasn't ready. Not even Laxus could disagree and he generally did disagree, although he retracts most statements after seeing what the mages were capable of under pressure. Despite the tough exterior, he wanted everyone to be stronger so that they could protect the ones they cared about. No one but S-Class mages were aware of that little tidbit of information but he did seem to start distancing himself away from everyone recently.

After Natsu was promoted to S-Class he and Erza had taken harder S-Class missions and sometimes went on solo missions because they both knew that just since they were together didn't mean they had to cram themselves by the other's side at all hours of the day.

 **July 21, x783**

Through it all Natsu hadn't forgotten his old friend but he still had made his vow to her, and he would not let anything stop him. This was tested about a month after his promotion to S-Class when a dark guild had gotten the drop on the pair while on a monster extermination mission. Happy had opted to stay out of this mission and to stay at the guild so that the two could be alone. The guild was a small one containing only seven members. They weren't terribly strong but their magic complimented each other's, truly there was only one fighter in the group that all the others enhanced to be a super strong fighter. One guy dressed in a dark blue uniform used a variant of **Dark Ecriture** that was written in a complex language that formed the item out of thin air, attaching it to anything and giving the ability to them to use that like it was there their entire life. There was another **Metal Make** wizard dressed in dark gray who had stronger magic but was not a real fighter and could only make the objects to use. On one of the sides was a stout woman that used a specialized **Archive Magic** in gold that detected an enemies battle patterns and linked the next move into the fighters head, giving them time to make a countermove. The magic also gave the best course of action in those situations but most of the time is ignored in the heat of battle. There was a **Sand Magic** user in tan who was to deflect all attacks away from the **Archive** mage. There was an **Enchanter** in white that gave varying abilities to weapons made from the **Metal Make** wizard and to any human as well. The last enhancer of the group was a **Demon Summoner** in black who summoned a wide array of demons to control the fighters body to fight, the **Dark Ecriture** mage made the extra parts depending on the demon, some had four arms some had wings and two heads. He just made them more powerful by giving them the state that they are used to fighting with, however they had to use the fighters magic, an **Explosive Fire** user dressed in red.

The fighter ended up being their downfall being unable to really wield his magic against Natsu, however it was still a tough fight because of the weapon that was possessed by the possessed fighter. The demon that ended up being summoned was a four armed demon with two heads, and one head controlled two arms while the other controlled two arms. So it was basically two humans stuck together. The **Maker** wizard had formed a two handed longsword with a simple cross guard and handle that he pulled from under his cloak promptly, passing out afterwards. The **Enchanter** had placed enhancements on both the sword and increased their fighter's abilities in speed and strength to be doubled. The blade was enhanced with a poison that would kill someone in five hours if they didn't move, if they did, the poison was spread at double the rate. After he was enhanced in speed and strength the **Archive** mage had pulled up the screens and had started to type away furiously. Of course there was no data on either of them initially but after they started fighting it would analyze their fighting strategy and come up with ways to counteract each one.

The demon charged forward and swung downwards at Erza who parried with her standard sword while still in her Heart Kruez armor. While they dislodged their swords he brought his lower arms forward and blasted Erza away with the **Explosive Fire**. Erza sustained some burns but was relatively okay. After she was hit however she took a second to say,

" **Re-quip: Flame Empress Armor** "

Natsu had also taken that opportunity to try charging the demon with a shouted, " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist** " but instead the lunged strike sailed harmlessly by as the demon had slid to the right and slammed his lower hands into Natsu's stomach but before he could double over from the strike he was struck in the back of the head by the pommel of the poisoned blade, due to the blows the momentum flipped Natsu through the air as he landed to the ground with a thud. Both of them knew that trying to go through the demon was not the way that they wanted to go if they planned to walk away from this fight. Instead, they thought of all the magic used that could have made him able to predict what is coming since he hadn't even looked at Natsu when he struck him. **Metal Make** , no. **Summoning Magic** , maybe. Variant of **Dark Ecriture** , no. **Enhancement Magic** , not in this case. That left one true choice, the **Archive** mage. They had both retreated away from the four armed demon so that they could discuss how to take out the intelligence of the group. It was logical to assume that a battle oriented Archive would only allow the user to transfer information to a single person at a time so if they attack them then they may transfer it to the **Sand Magic** user so that he can protect her and possibly stave off the attacker to wear them down or cause them to go back into fighting the demon.

Since Natsu was the only one that could hope to stand up to the magic the demon was borrowing from the body he possessed he was the one who would stay and fight while Erza went to go take out the **Archive** mage. Natsu had taken a slower approach than he had before, relying on his head rather than his fists like he did before. This resulted in the demon making a bold move and instead going after Erza. Before he could even shout the blade had already struck her across the back. As she went down Natsu felt blind rage and had blacked out. Of course, Erza was barely conscious and watched as Natsu charged at the **Archive** wizard in her stead and threw a flaming punch, only to be blocked by a wall of sand. Natsu instead had turned his attention to the Sand mage instead and started to advance on him. As he reached him the mage smirked as though he was victorious and Natsu took that as a cue and disappeared from everyone's vision for a split second. He reappeared in front of the demon and landed a crushing blow to his abdomen before the **Archive** wizard transferred the data back over to him. Natsu had then turned back to the Sand wizard and charged him. As he got closer he grew more nervous and had tensed under the incoming assault. There was no way that he was getting the Archive data now due to the attack that this wizard was capable of. He was on his own to keep this wizard away from the **Archive** mage, so he stuck on the defensive end while the demon was aiding him to try and keep him out of the way but Natsu's attack patterns had become erratic since Erza had been struck so the data was a bit off and was only correct about half the time. In his rage, Natsu had lopped off the head that was formed by **Dark Ecriture** and had ripped the lower right arm off. This didn't truly hurt his body per say but it did leave them with phantom pains for a little while. After five minutes of brutal fighting Natsu came back to his senses, not remembering what had occurred during that time. When he came back, he stopped fighting for a minute to gather his bearings but was unable to due to a small blast of **Sand Magic** and the stroke of a glittering poison sword. He reacted by sidestepping the blast and then rolling under the legs of the demon, turning on the Sand mage and striking him with a **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**. The mage was blasted back, unconscious. Right after striking the mage Natsu was slammed in between the shoulder blades by the pommel again, jolting him forward and causing him to stumble in front of the **Archive** wizard. He grinned for a second before delivering a powerful uppercut to the stout woman before the demon had any chance to react to the data being streamed through. However, even being too slow to stop the dragon slayer from knocking their intelligence out he still struck Natsu with a swing that arced through the air as Natsu that turned to face the assailant. The strike cut Natsu across his body from the right collarbone down to the left side of his abdomen, poison seeping into his body as the blade passed through.

Natsu reeled back from the blow and ducked under the follow up horizontal slash. Pushing off with his back foot Natsu charged the demon and rammed his shoulder into his stomach and grabbing his legs, making him double over his back before standing up as tall as he could, flipping the demon over his head as he lifted his arms for extra momentum. He slammed on the ground before springing back up and lunging at Natsu while preparing for his dodge, when Natsu did sidestep he swung the lower arm into Natsu's chest sending him crashing to the ground and sending a spurt of blood out of the wound across his body. Natsu had quickly rolled out of the way of the next strike which was aimed at his head while he rolled to his feet the demon and whirled around and struck a blow along his jawline, giving him a thin cut. Natsu then charged at the demon and caught the left hook as it came in, but the strength enhancement blew Natsu off his feet and flung him back about ten feet. Natsu stood up in time to see the sword coming down upon his form vertically. He sidestepped to the left and used a **Fire Dragon's Crushing Elbow** to knock the demon off his feet. Not letting up Natsu used a **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist** to knock the man out which forced the demon from his body, while as an astral form the demon looked more like a shade than anything but after being knocked out of the inhabited body he disappeared to his own realm. Afterwards, both the **Dark Ecriture** arm and the **Enchantments** wore off on the unconscious man. The three standing enemies all just gathered their allies and took off running while the **Metal Make** mage was left to get up and scramble after them.

At one point in his life, Natsu would have chased after them but he knew that Erza's condition was his top priority. He was aware that by carrying her he would involuntarily make her move but he couldn't leave her defenseless out here, so he slung her over his should as nicely and the best way he could as to cause her as little discomfort as possible and started the relatively minor trek back to Magnolia.

When Natsu was near the edge of Magnolia he collapsed from exhaustion, he thought to himself that he still wasn't strong enough and that he couldn't improve fast enough and that he needed to work harder if he lived. He didn't care if he had died as much as Erza, he could never forgive himself if he was the cause of her death. When most of his vision was black he thought of Erza and how she was in just as much danger as he was. It caused him to regain his vision and trudge onwards towards Magnolia, still carrying an immobile Erza. Natsu stopped for a second at the guild doors to catch his breath so he could speak clearly when he got in there.

After a few seconds he took a step forward and stumbled into the guild hall instead making a resounding crash as the doors opened to reveal Natsu with Erza slung over his shoulder. A few seconds after Natsu walked in, everyone stopped what they were doing and simply just stared at the dragon slayers form. His red jacket was stained its darker counterpart of crimson as well as his typical white trousers, now a blood red. The jacket was ripped and torn and was barely recognizable while the trousers looked like shorts now, his sandals were missing and his hair looked darker from all the dirt in it. The most striking thing was that there was a long thin scar that looked to have been cauterized very recently, although probably by accident. When he stumbled in many people saw the large gash that went across Erza's back. The armor was sliced clean as though it were made of butter. While Natsu having just come in looking like he was just sent through hell and back was pretty shocking, it was when Natsu spoke that took the cake.

"Get. Doctor… Poisoned Blade. Please. Hurry. Save. Erza. First…"

After Natsu said what he wanted them to do he collapsed on the floor with Erza ending up lying next to him using him as a pillow. The guild panicked and was in a state of chaos while Makarov had already contacted Porlyusica to assist the two of them. Had anyone else asked her she probably would have turned them down but she owed Makarov more than she felt she could ever repay, so she became the guilds personal healer of sorts. She arrived in minutes, regardless of how far away she was she always was there within five minutes. Nobody really knew how she did it either, when she arrived she rushed up to the infirmary and started checking over Natsu and Erza, she had to reopen the wounds so that way she could get as much of the poison out of their systems as possible to help identify it. She was surprised to see that much of the poison in Natsu's body was gone before she realized that his body heat would have likely burned much of the poison out of his system.

Realizing that Natsu's life was not in as much danger as Erza's she quickly went about expelling the poison from her body before closing her wound back up. She moved back to Natsu and was surprised to see his weak eyes darting around before landing on Porlyusica, they asked the biggest unasked question lingering on Natsu's mind. She nodded her head slightly and spoke softly, "She will live, she just needs to rest for a while. So don't bother her."

Natsu sighed in relief that he was able to save her, he didn't much care if he died or if he was hurt. Her safety meant more to him than his own. Despite Porlyusica working on his body to dispel the rest of the poison he shot up as he realized something. He truly loved Erza, not as family but as something so much more. She was his mate, and it became his duty to protect her with everything he had, even if he didn't know he was protecting her. It was in this moment that he began the second stage in his mating process, the marking. Before Natsu knew what was happening there was a burning sensation on his chest.

Across the room Erza woke up to a warm sensation on her neck, it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Rather it felt more like she was being caressed by Natsu's warm hand. She groggily started coming to her senses before hearing a scream come from behind her. Her eyes shot open and she painfully turned around to face them. When she fully turned around to say she was shocked would have been an understatement. She saw Natsu writhing on the bed in the infirmary with a flame dancing around his chest. She was confused since Natsu couldn't be burned but she was brought out of her thoughts when she realized that her neck was burning and started freaking out about it before she realized that while she was on fire, she wasn't being burnt and it was pleasantly warm. 'So this is what I was feeling when I woke up…' she mused to herself, slightly disappointed that it wasn't Natsu's hand before she thought she would have hit him for doing that. She gazed on in concern as the flames slowly dwindled down on Natsu's chest before finally flickering out. He gasped in relief when they did and slowly looked down at his chest before his face contorted into an expression of terror for a second before relaxing. Confused by the expression Erza tentatively called out, "Natsu…?"

Glancing at her he smiled weakly, still giving off his toothy grin as he spoke, "Hey Erza, how are you feeling?"

"Sore, but I am alright, what about you? I saw your expression of terror for that quick second. What's wrong?"

Natsu sighed, she really was perceptive about the ones that were close to her, which wasn't truly many people since she kept them all at an arm's length. He spoke slowly, "To a dragon slayer, it happens to those that have accepted something. But many know that what they are accepting is reciprocated beforehand. I don't, I was terrified because… well because I truly don't know how far your feelings for me go. You don't have the same problem as a dragon slayer, you can love as many as you wish. We can't… we only fall in love once, and whoever we do fall for doesn't have to love us back. But when we fall in love, no matter what, the second stage of mating begins. The marking of the one we love, it is a tattoo that shows our two magics combined. It appears randomly on their skin. For the slayer, it is always a fire that sears into our skin, while to anyone else involved it feels gentler. The only reason I looked terrified was because I love you, but I… I truly don't know how you feel and I'm scared that you don't feel the same way."

Erza, wanted to pounce on Natsu and spill how she felt, but of course her body was still too weak to move all that much so she settled for a less enthusiastic response, "Natsu, you don't have to be scared. I have loved you for so long now. I just could never find the right time to say it. I want to be with you, and you alone."

Natsu grinned his toothy grin and hopped off the bed, ignoring Porlyusica's protests that she still needed to seal his wounds. He shrugged and burst into flame, cauterizing all wounds on his body, not caring in the slightest of the scars they would leave. He only had thoughts for Erza, and she for him. Of course Porlyusica almost ruined the moment when she coughed and excused herself. When she had exited the room, the same atmosphere flared up once more. Natsu's draconic instincts were lustful while his others were a bit more moderate to a point where he could control himself. Erza was almost feeling the same but she was a little more reluctant than his instincts but she knew that it was Natsu who she held all feelings for, forgetting about Jellal and the Tower of Heaven.

They had slowly been closing in on each other the entire time until they met and brought their lips closer to one another. When their lips finally met, they both felt a bliss spread through their entire bodies as they melted into the kiss, sealing the third stage. Which was common to happen soon after the second, once it was completed Natsu felt something drop into his pocket. After the atmosphere had diminished, both their instincts were pushed into the back as they started conversing on small things, ending one small adventure and starting their next.

 **October 17, x783**

Natsu was pacing back and forth in front of his and Erza's shared home. After the incident in the infirmary they had decided to build a house together, they had wanted to do something so that they could expand upon it if necessary and had decided that they could worry about the smaller details about expansion later.

They had a two story building that had a cobbled entryway that opened into a spacious living room. Tucked off onto the side was a stairway leading to the second floor and a stairway leading into their basement. The basement was used as storage for all of Erza's armor and other various things, like extra on hand money. Turning left in the living room there was an open space that led directly into the kitchen. There were counters that ran across the wall on the left and continued all the way to the edge and continued in front of the entrance. There were standard wares and appliances for the kitchen as well as a small island in the middle of the kitchen. On the right hand side there was a doorway that led into a quaint dining room with a doorway on the right side, if you were standing in the doorway, which went into a small library that doubled as a workspace. Upstairs had five doorways, there were three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The bathrooms were stationed on the right hand side and the bedrooms across from them. Natsu and Erza had claimed the one closest to the stairs and currently the other two were being used as guest bedrooms.

Natsu was standing on the porch that sat right outside of the entryway and toyed with the object in his pocket. He was wearing new apparel that Erza had made him go and buy which consisted of a white dress shirt and black dress pants with matching shoes and a striped silver and gold tie. He nervously carded his fingers through his hair as Erza stepped out onto the porch to greet him, they had agreed that he would step outside to wait until she finished getting ready so she could surprise him. When she stepped out she was wearing a crimson cocktail dress that faded into a salmon at the bottom. Her hair was done in a waterfall braid and she had crimson pumps on that matched well with her attire. She smiled at Natsu who was entranced by the sheer beauty radiating off of Erza. She shook him out of his daydream when she held her arm out to him, he took the offered arm and they started down the cobblestone path they had built out to their house, paying from their own pockets, and into town. They headed into a small café that seemed perfect for the occasion they were having, it was just a date night for her and something more for Natsu but he wanted to have this special occasion away from his family, they would have never let him live it down.

The date had gone off smoothly and they were walking around town and came to a stop at one of the many parks that dotted Magnolia. To them there was no significance about the place, but it did hold a certain charm to it. It was in the center of town but for some reason it felt like his old place, a cheery peacefulness and serenity. As they stopped in the park Erza looked up at the moon, lost in her own world. Natsu again fiddled with his object tucked into his pants pocket, except this time he pulled it out and held it in his hand. He gazed at her ethereal beauty as she stood bathed in the moonlight, he plucked up the courage and moved towards her slowly. He sucked in a small breath and breathed out, "Erza…"

She turned around and smiled softly at Natsu and questioned, "Yes, love?"

He was sweating bullets by the time he had whispered her name but now, even that description was inadequate to describe Natsu's state. He was visibly shaking as he forced his arms up, his left hand grasping the object. He slowly got down on one knee and used his right hand to open the object to show a glittering ring. It was had a golden band with a small blood red diamond in the center. Erza had gasped when she saw the ring and started tearing up when she heard his next words.

"Erza Scarlet, I love you with all my being and more. I will protect you until the end of times, no matter what. Will you marry me?"

 **Author's Note: Yes, yes. I am mean, more or less. Not really sure if I should have left off after that three year mark or not but I wanted to get to the proposal. I must keep this brief because I need to post this and go to bed. Not sure where I will be ending off next chapter and I hope to post another chapter in at least a week or two.**

 **-Dead Delta**


	4. A New Dawn

Written Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail…

 **Author's Note: How long has it been? Not sure but I sure as hell know I don't have too much homework that I can do right now and I want to get this chapter done. Both of my stories, multiple chapters currently (not my new post), are just around the point to start canon. I will not go into much detail about it but Natsu will be S-Class, I only say this now so you don't have to question it throughout the story. I really want to make Gray S-Class too but I don't know if I should… truthfully I think that Gray could easily be S-Class after the Tartaros Arc when he gets the Ice Devil Slayer powers. I don't know… I am okay with either and if you have a suggestion then comment it cause it doesn't matter to me. Also, Natsu and Gray will have a different kind of bond in this story, I will address why this is later on and while they will spar from time to time it will not be them duking it out in the guild hall like they do in the anime. (FYI, if I sometimes sound illiterate I apologize, chances are I was just hanging around my friends and it tends to ruin my formal approach with talking or typing for a little while…) Also, I tend to swear more, fair warning!**

 **(Not necessary to read)**

 **Random thing that I think is awesome, it isn't really relevant to the story and this can be skipped for people who don't want to read this paragraph. Anyways, I had this teacher last year so I am not surprised at all but I have a teacher who literally freaking meows! She is one of the best teachers I have had in high school but she is pretty strict.**

 **(Probably should continue AN)**

 **I am giving Natsu new attire. Honestly, I can't say I am fond of what he has in canon. For this story, I simply don't think it will work with him being a whole lot more mature. So, he will have a bit more of what I think would be a good style for "mature Natsu". So, he wears a black t-shirt with a red hoodie halfway zipped up, and under certain circumstances you can see the Fairy Tail symbol in red on the left pectoral of the t-shirt. He will not wear his scarf for the most part, I only do this because I am adding it to Erza's apparel to signify how much she means to him by giving her his most valued treasure left from Igneel. For his lower body, he is wearing black jeans with a white belt loosely looped through the holes at a slight angle. Covering his feet are black steel toed combat boots. (Sorry about steel toed, I just think they are better, forgive my bias about boots. Well, my boots are steel toed work boots but same difference, right?)**

 **I also forgot the mention which side his mating mark is on which will be his right pectoral (pectoralis major for the people of science)**

 **Um, I will probably glance over much of the wedding and probably just flashback the shit out of it. Since hey guess what, I am a guy still in high school that knows jack shit (Pardon my damn language, lol) about romance. Here's what I know, pull back the chair, let her get whatever the hell she wants without making her pay, make her feel special, give her all you can.**

 **Worst part is, doesn't always work. But I won't be expedient (1), so I think it is time to make a story happen!**

Chapter 4: A New Dawn

"… YES!" **(I think that many is appropriate, don't you?)**

Erza closed the short distance between the pair and hugged Natsu intensely, swinging him around like a life sized teddy bear. Natsu managed to make strangled sounds that gathered Erza's attention and she stopped squeezing the life out of him.

After she let go of the dragon slayer he took a half step back so he could breathe. Even so, he was still smiling widely at Erza. A few seconds later, he got his breath back and put the ring on her finger.

Erza still had a radiant smile gracing her lips, fondly gazing at the ring that truly changed her life.

 **July 1** **st** **, x784**

"Hey Natsu, I have some information for you. Come here."

"Sure what's up?"

"So, I heard something recently about a Salamander being spotted in Hargeon or something. Thought it might pique your interest?"

"Thanks, it might be Igneel. I will have to check into that then, thank you."

"No problem…"

"Hey Erza, I might have a lead on Igneel and I was going to go check it out. Did you want to go?" Natsu queried his wife.

"No, I was thinking of taking a mission while you go, I would love to go with you but recently we have been running a little short on Jewels. We are just about to run into our emergency spending funds, I would like to replenish them, but have fun on your search, darling."

"I will…" Natsu spoke in a lower, insidious **(2)** tone, "but I could have a whole lot more fun with you, love."

Hearing this she shivered in excitement and bit her lip adorning a small blush, "Well, I may choose a mission today but I think I can start it tomorrow. Come on, lover boy."

She grabbed Natsu by the front of his hoodie and drug the dragon slayer to their home on the outskirts of Magnolia. ( **We all know what happens next, and I would much rather not go in to much detail about this one…)**

 **July 2** **nd** **, x784**

"Ugh, I may be over my motion sickness now but that does not mean I still hate transportation. Thank god we are off that death trap." Turning to face his partner Natsu shouted, "Alright, let's go find us a salamander!"

"Aye Sir!" Happy cheered.

The two walked in relative silence, until they heard fangirling in the distance. When the two heard it, they immediately started heading that way, as they approached they were greeted by a large crowd of girls surrounding someone. Natsu squirmed his way to the front by going low, Natsu, being married and a dragon slayer, did not even try to peek. When he reached the front he started, "Igneel, is that you ya ol… who are you?"

Turning away from the girls swarming him he responded, "I am the great Salamander, perhaps you haven't heard of me. How about I give you an autograph?" Not waiting for an answer he put his signature on a piece of paper and held it out.

Natsu retorted, "No thanks," only to be swarmed by a hoard of girls that took the liberty of using him as a punching bag. The only thoughts running through his head were, 'Thank god Erza isn't here to see this, she'd kill them all despite how much I would protest, and how the hell did I still end up with that damned piece of paper?'

"Now, now girls. Don't take it out on this young man and his naivety. Anyways, I must be off. I hope to see you all at my yacht party tonight at 10 o'clock. See you later, **Red Carpet!** "

As he flew off many of the girls dispersed to go and buy dresses to look nice at the party. Natsu mumbled, "Fire magic, tch. I can take the pompous ass."

A blonde girl then walked up to Natsu, "Thanks for saving me, the jerk was using **Charm Magic**. I can't believe he's famous, anyways. My name is Lucy, and I would like to show my appreciation to you. So, how about I treat you two to lunch?"

Natsu looked the girl over, he could tell that she was a mage easily. On her hip were Celestial Spirit Keys, while he knew no spirits personally he knew what each constellation was and was only mildly surprised to see three of the twelve golden keys hanging on the chain. Seeing the whip made him grin, he had an idea for Erza to use at a later time. After inspecting her magic and slightly guessing at her abilities he spoke, "Sure, but I warn you. I eat, a lot."

"Wow, you weren't kidding. I have never seen anyone put down as much food as you before." Lucy said, slightly put off that the 1,000 Jewels she saved from her last key just went down the drain. "Anyways, I have to get going. I just wanted to thank you again for helping me."

"But we didn't do anything…" Natsu tried, but she waved him off.

"Don't worry about it."

"Well, anyways. Thank you so much for the meal." Natsu spoke, nudging Happy they both made a bow to Lucy.

"S-stop that, it's embarrassing." However, Lucy's pleas fell on deaf ears. She just sighed and walked out of the restaurant.

"C'mon Natsu, this trip was a bust. Igneel isn't here. Let's go back to the guild and wait for Erza, I can't wait to eat her cooking again. She makes the best fish!" Happy said.

Natsu laughed lightly, "Yeah she does, but something isn't sitting right with me here little buddy. I think we can stay the night, after all, we did bring enough for a hotel and dinner. Besides, Erza's quest will probably take a little while anyways, so even if we left now, you still wouldn't be getting any fish from Erza for a while."

Happy pouted, "Okay, I guess your right Natsu."

 **July 2** **nd** **, x784**

 **Time: 10:17 pm**

Natsu and Happy overlooked the port from a bridge in town. The party seemed to be going in full swing while there were a few stragglers headed that way. Or simply onlookers such as the group of females off to their side.

"Did you hear that on the yacht way out there that the Salamander is hosting a party?"

"Salamander? Who's that?"

"You mean that you've never heard of the Salamander?"

"Yeah, I mean. He is one of the most famous mages from Fairy Tail…"

Natsu's eyes narrowed at the name of his guild. This was what was feeling wrong to him. That man from earlier, Salamander. Was using his guild's name to attract people. Not even thinking of who Salamander was since he was well known, he turned to Happy and said, "Come on, let's go."

It wasn't long before Natsu arrived above the yacht with Happy carrying him using his **Aera Magic**. Knowing what Natsu wanted Happy let go of his hoodie, letting him crash through the ship.

Natsu slammed his fist into the wood before the rest of his body and landed on the base of the yacht in a swirl of dust. When it cleared, Natsu was kneeling in the center of a small crater with cracked wooden planks raised in all directions around him. Shadows from his bangs covered his eyes, giving him a stygian **(3)** appearance. "Are you a mage from Fairy Tail?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you, or are you not, a mage of Fairy Tail?"

"And, what if I am?"

"Then you're a damned liar, I'm a Fairy Tail mage and in seven years. I have never once seen your face walk through those guild doors!"

'Salamander' paled at this. But then recovered and smirked, "Where's your proof, I see no guild mark on you."

Natsu pulled the hoodie to the left revealing the mark on the t-shirt underneath before pulling it right and lifting his t-shirt sleeve up to reveal his true red guild mark. "That's all the proof you need."

"Ah, Bora! He almost fits the exact description of the real Salamander. He has pink hair, but he is missing that trademark scarf. But rumor has it he gave it to someone close to him."

"Shut up fool, don't call me by that name. And I know it is him, you dolt." Bora exclaimed.

"Ah, Bora of Prominence. Yes, I remember you. Kicked out of the Titan Nose guild for improper uses of magic such as working with **Charm Magic**. Your use of fire magic was said to be spectacular but I truly doubt that you would ever be able to best me. It may sound arrogant but, unfortunately for you, I am speaking the truth and have room for arrogance in this situation."

At this point in time, the boat started rocking violently before being swept into a current wrought out by Aquarius, summoned by Lucy who made an escape with Happy just after Natsu landed.

After the boat crashed into the docks, everyone was spilled out of the ship. Natsu took the fall with a roll and was instantly on his feet once again. Bora and his henchmen were dropped to the ground like sacks of potatoes. Bora and crew shakily got to their feet and watched as Natsu turned back to face them.

About time to see if you can truly live up to your big words, **Prominence Whip!** "

The stream of purple fire came hurtling at Natsu while he did nothing and just stood there with his arms crossed **(Laxus style)** and a stoic expression on his face. Lucy, unknowing of his magic shouted, "Look out!" Before Happy filled her in on Natsu's magic meanwhile Natsu started eating the flames like it was a steak.

When he finished he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and belched somewhat quietly with a fist covering his mouth. "Those flames were disgusting, in my opinion they aren't even good enough to be considered flames."

"What the hell are you‽" **(This is a true punctuation mark known as an interrobang for people who don't know)**

" **Fire Dragon Slayer** , at your service."

Bora paled after hearing this, Dragon Slayers were thought to be extinct, however this one proved that theory wrong. Bora's head was in a whirl before he was brought back to reality by Natsu who started speaking again.

"Truthfully, I don't care that you smuggled girls and sold them into slave rings. Of course, I would have still came and kicked your ass but that isn't my reason right now. You dishonored the name of Fairy Tail and shall be punished accordingly. **Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Flames of Atonement!** "

A blast of white fire was sent hurtling at the slavers and their ship before spreading outwards in a ring connected in the middle from four spots. The center the erupted in an explosion of fire that expanded outwards until reaching the outer ring before stopping. When the flames died down, every slaver was sprawled on the ground, knocked out except for Bora, who was barely holding onto consciousness.

"Contrary to the name of the spell, it doesn't truly make one atone for their sins or anything. Apart from the initial excruciating pain it causes those caught in the initial blast to relive everything they have done, many of the things you will see will be things that you will not want to see. Also, most people end up unconscious for about a month, so enjoy your next month in hell." **(I will try to explain how the spell works at the bottom, also giving a visual description of the initial blast in greater detail with real life references.)**

Lucy walked up to Natsu in awe of what she had just witnessed, "What in the world was that?"

"Oh, that was a spell I developed a year ago. I haven't really used it too much, I used it to take down a dark guild once about six months back and got most of that information about it from there. Of course, in the making of it a few people wanted me to test it on them. Knowing they could handle the heat I complied, although I ended up tuning the spell down when I did, so they were unconscious for a lot less time."

"Wow, so I heard you say something about being in Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah, I heard him say something about believing he was in Fairy Tail and something about being gullible. Knowing this, it would seem logical that you are currently a wandering mage without a guild. I only know since most guilds are close to one another and know most members. Now, I would like to invite you to join Fairy Tail because it really isn't safe to be rogue."

"I would love to join Fairy Tail, I have always wanted to. It has been my dream for a long time, thank you so much."

"It's nothing, we have to hit the road soon before the Rune Knights get here but first, **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " Natsu blasted the yacht still tipped on the dock destroying the ship, however, it did not harm any passengers still aboard the vessel as they tumbled harmlessly to the ground.

"Come on Happy, Lucy, let's go back to Fairy Tail."

 **July 4** **th** **, x784**

Natsu, Happy, and Lucy approached a wooden building in the center of Magnolia. It wasn't the most impressive looking building in town however it was certainly the most noticeable. The trio approached said building without making any detours at Lucy's request. Of course Natsu complied with her not seeing any reason to argue. They did have to walk the entire way back after all.

Upon reaching the doors Natsu decided to take an easy approach into the guild hall and avoid a huge racket. Of course, in Fairy Tail, such a thing is impossible. Once the doors were open a chair flew towards Natsu and Lucy. Natsu quickly stepped in front of a cowering Lucy and smashed the chair with a flaming fist. "Who threw that?" He snarled. "We have a guest, so calm down."

Before anyone could respond Elfman shouted, "Owning up to your mistakes is manly!"

Wakaba looked away from Natsu, "Sorry, I threw the chair. I will try to avoid doing it again."

Natsu laughed, "Don't worry too much old man, you might lose your hair!"

Most of the present guild laughed at Wakaba, much to his chagrin **(4)**. During this time Mirajane approached them. "Hey, I heard that we have a newcomer and I thought I would ask, are you here to join the guild?"

"Wow, you're the Mirajane Strauss. It's an honor to meet you, and yes, I am here to join the guild."

Mira smiled when she heard Lucy praise her and motioned her to follow as she walked back to the bar. Ignoring the brawl that had re-broken out due to Natsu kicking someone for false information or something like that.

When the pair reached the bar, Mira pulled out a small Fairy Tail stamp and queried, "What color would you like it and where?"

"Right hand and pink please."

A body crashed into the bar next to Lucy while the figure yelled, "Come on bro! Don't do stupid shit like that now of all times. Someone just joined, think of it!"

"Haha, Gray this is too funny. But you are right, here's your underwear back." Natsu said, tossing said mages undergarments back to him.

"Welcome to the rowdiest guild in all of Fiore Lucy." Mirajane smiled brightly.

 **June 4** **th** **, x784**

 **Time: 1:32pm**

"Come on Natsu, let's choose a mission real quick to get Lucy accustomed to team jobs." Happy whined.

"Hold on, I am looking for a good one with some pay to help Lucy out. Hah, I think I got…"

His voice trailed off when a young boy came bursting into the guild, "When's my dad coming back?"

Makarov sighed, "Your father is a Fairy Tail mage and he can hold his own. Now go home and have some milk and cookies."

"I hate you all!" Romeo shouted before punching Makarov in the face and running off.

"That seems a little cold don't you think?" Lucy asked Mira.

"Master may seem that way but inside he is probably one of the most worried in the guild…"

Mirajane trailed off as a loud crash was heard over by the request board where Natsu punched a hole in the wood, although, he destroyed most of it and it crashed over backwards. Natsu paid no attention to it as he stalked off out of the guild, a trail of fire burning behind him.

"What's up with him?"

"His surrogate father left him when he was young, so he was in a similar situation as Romeo. But he doesn't want him to suffer the same thing. Another thing… this is not good, the one person who can help him right now is on a mission. Lucy, you should go with him. He should calm down with a new member around."

"O-okay…"

"Why did you come again?"

"Uh, Mira wanted to make sure you didn't go on a rampage and sent me. Who is the one person who can calm you down?"

"Don't worry about it, I am concerned about what you are wearing. You know Mount Hakobe is very cold right?"

"What about you? You aren't wearing much else!"

"I am a fire mage, I don't get cold. Here, it won't be much but it will help." He said, handing over his sweatshirt, revealing a red Fairy Tail mark on the left pectoral of the shirt.

Lucy flushed a bit, "U-uh thanks."

"Where's Macao at you damned ape? I smell him on you!"

"Me no like man, me like woman. Smash man, love woman!"

"You're so annoying, so shut up! **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " The punch hit the Vulcan and sent it crashing into the side of the cavern. The cave rumbled a bit and a few stalactites fell from above. The fire slowly eating away at the fur and flesh of the Vulcan until only the unconscious form of Macao, who had a wound on his right side. Natsu walked up to the man, fist on fire. He held true pity for what he was about to do, however none showed beyond his resolve. Upon reaching his still form he plunged his fire around his hand into the wound, sterilizing and sealing the wound as Macao screamed in utter agony at the pain. "Sorry Macao, I don't want Romeo to lose you. He needs you right now."

"I know, I only defeated twenty of them before I was overwhelmed. Caught me from behind, the damned monkey…"

Lucy just dropped her jaw after hearing this, twenty defeated enemies and he was still disappointed in himself? These mages were outright insane.

Romeo sat on a bench, still weeping from earlier. Natsu had passed by him enraged beyond belief a few hours ago. He hadn't heard from the mage since, until he saw a mop of dark blue hair alongside another made of pink with a blonde following.

"Dad! Natsu!" Romeo yelled.

"Hey Romeo, sorry about all that. But, the next time those kids pick on you ask them this, 'can your dad defeat 20 monsters by himself?' Okay? Now cheer up, you are the son of a wizard. Be proud and stand tall."

"Alright dad, I will."

 **Two days later: July 6** **th** **x784**

"Hey Natsu, did you want to form a team with me?" Lucy asked.

"Sorry, but I have to decline. I am already in a team and our loveable leader is picky with members. Otherwise I would invite you to join. I heard you got along great with the Thunder Legion and Team Shadow Gear. I would say to join one of them. They are good teams but the Thunder Legion isn't really guild oriented, so truthfully I would say Shadow Gear."

"Oh, alright Natsu. Thanks for the information."

"Sure, no prob…"

"GUYS! We have a problem… its Erza, she's back."

"Ah, so she is back. Better go greet her, otherwise I will be on the couch for a month." Natsu said before he rushed past Loke.

"What was that about?" Lucy asked no one in particular.

"Are you telling me that in four days, you didn't once notice his wedding ring?" Gray asked.

"Well, I suppose. He just doesn't seem the type, and I must have overlooked it."

"True, it is as they say. People will see what they expect to see." Gray stated sagely.

At this point Natsu and Erza burst back into the guild. Erza quickly walked over to Gray and stated, "Come on, we need your help. I will explain in a couple of minutes on the train. Get dressed and get a move on."

"Y-yes madam. I will be there shortly." Gray fearfully stated.

"Good," she turned to Lucy. "Ah, you must be new to the guild. Welcome, I am Erza Dragneel. I hope we can be good friends in the future."

"Me too, but it seems your husband forgot to mention he was married."

"Did he now, I will have a talk with him later." As she whipped her head to glare at her husband the mating mark became visible on her neck. Although, Lucy just saw a shield with two swords crossing underneath with a dragon head in the middle with the front claws of a dragon gripping the top corner. She was brought back to reality when Natsu spoke,

"I only didn't say anything since she didn't ask! I thought she saw my wedding band! Honest!"

"Gray, meeting time changed. Be at the train in two hours! You mister," She said pointing at Natsu before leaning into his ear, "We have our own meeting in ten minutes." Before heading out of the guild she nipped Natsu's ear. The entire thing leaving the dragon slayer a mess before he shouted and sprinted out of the guild at speeds even Jet would be jealous of.

 **Author's Note: Yes I skipped a lot of shit. I am sorry if you wanted to see them but frankly I didn't like much of it. I changed a bit of the Macao Arc and didn't really delve too deep into it.**

 **Spell explanation- so, the fire starts off like a fireball and expands like a ring around an area before connecting in the middle. From an aerial view it would look like a sniper's scope. Then the explosion allows fire to hijack the nervous system of the mage and infiltrate the Central Nervous System and resurface memories.**

 **Expedient- serving to promote one's interest; not necessarily right or good**

 **Insidious- awaiting a chance to entrap (also can mean seductive, which is how I was using it)**

 **Stygian- of or pertaining to the river Styx; if lowercased 's' it means gloomy and dark; infernal; hellish (infernal or hellish in this case)**

 **Chagrin- disquieted or distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure (humiliation)**

 **So, sorry if this chapter isn't up to your standards. I tried to make it the best I could while giving you a decent upload time.**

 **I am fairly certain that I will not be going to any parties on Saturdays anytime soon, cause I just had a bad experience. (For people who read my other experience, this was worse. Cause I remember everything)**

 **See you all, and thanks for your time.**

 **-Dead Delta**


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